Jason Robertson has a decision to make today, and the Dallas Stars are watching the clock right along with him.
The star winger has until 4 p.m. CT to file for salary arbitration. No new deal is in place, and time is running out fast.
Here's the wrinkle. Filing for arbitration wipes out any chance of an offer sheet from another club. It also opens the door to something Stars fans probably don't want to think about.
If arbitration is the path, the expectation is a short bridge. A one-year deal that would send Robertson straight into unrestricted free agency next summer.
That's a real risk for a team that just posted a 50-20-12 record and finished third overall in the league. Losing a 96-point scorer for nothing would sting.
Robertson isn't just a name on a cap sheet. He put up 45 goals and 51 assists last season, carrying a cap hit of 7,750,000 dollars on an expiring deal.
Why the Stars can't afford to let this drag out
And he wasn't fading down the stretch either. Over his last 10 games, Robertson scored 9 goals and added 4 assists for 13 points.
Dallas has been rolling, riding a five-game win streak into the summer with a plus-52 goal differential on the year. Losing their leading goal scorer to term uncertainty would undercut all of it.
Think of it like building a house and realizing the contractor's lease on the crane runs out in twelve months. You can still build. You just can't plan past the deadline.
General manager Jim Nill has been in charge in Dallas since 2013, and head coach Glen Gulutzan just wrapped his first season behind the bench. Neither wants this turning into a distraction heading into training camp.
A short-term bridge isn't the end of the world on its own. But pairing it with a walk year, for a player this productive, is asking for trouble.
-
If Robertson files today, the Stars will have twelve months to either extend him long-term or watch him walk for nothing. That clock doesn't stop for anybody.
Should the Dallas Stars sign Jason Robertson to a one-year bridge if it means risking losing him for nothing next summer?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
John Chayka reportedly ready to part ways with this Maple Leafs forward
